Tag: Devin Fitzsimmons

Seahawks hiring 3 former Panthers coaches

The Seahawks are hiring a few familiar names to their coaching staff.

The pipeline between Charlotte and Seattle apparently goes both ways.

On Thursday, the Carolina Panthers announced the final touches to their 2024 coaching staff. Joining the sideline will be five new assistants, all of which have spent at least part of their coaching careers with the Seattle Seahawks.

Not to be completely outdone, the Seahawks plucked a trio of former Panthers for themselves—Devin Fitzsimmons, Jake Peetz and Frisman Jackson.

Fitzsimmons, the most recent member of the organization, was officially hired by Seattle as their new assistant special teams coach. He served in the same role for Carolina this past season.

Peetz, as first reported by NFL Network insider Mike Garafolo, has been added as the team’s pass game coordinator. The Nebraska native was hired by the Panthers as a running backs coach for 2019 and was retained by Matt Rhule as a quarterbacks coach for 2020.

Jackson, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, is on as the wide receivers coach—the same position he had in Carolina between 2020 and 2021.

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Panthers reportedly not retaining TE coach John Lilly, assistant ST coach Devin Fitzsimmons

Per Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, the Panthers will not be retaining TE coach John Lilly or assistant special teams coach Devin Fitzsimmons.

New Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales is continuing to start his offense from scratch.

According to Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, the Panthers will not be retaining tight ends coach John Lilly. The 31-year coaching veteran was hired by the Frank Reich-led staff in February of 2023.

Lilly came to the Panthers with two prior seasons as a tight ends coach in the NFL. He headed the position group for the Los Angeles Rams in 2016 and for the Cleveland Browns in 2019.

The Beckley, W. Va. native has an extensive history of coaching tight ends at the collegiate level—with stops at Florida State University, the University of Georgia, the University of Tennessee and the University of North Carolina.

In addition to Lilly, Kaye also notes that the Panthers will not bring back assistant special teams coach Devin Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons was hired by Reich and company last February as well.

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Tracking all of the Panthers’ coaching departures in 2024

Here’s who the Panthers are moving on from as they rebuild their coaching staff for 2024

The Carolina Panthers are, once again, going out with the old and in with the new.

So now that we’re tallying up the new, let’s also keep track of the old.

Here are the team’s coaching departures heading into the 2024 campaign:

Vanderbilt K Sarah Fuller endorses Cardinals’ hiring of Devin Fitzsimmons

He helped her in her adjustment to college football, becoming the first woman to score in a Power Five football game.

The Arizona Cardinals announced the addition of Devin Fitzsimmons to their coaching staff this week as an assistant special teams coach, working under special teams coordinator and assistant head coach Jeff Rodgers. He was previously the special teams coach and tight ends coach for Vanderbilt.

He was part of history at Vanderbilt. Last December, when kicker Sarah Fuller made an extra point, she became the first woman in history to score in a Power Five college football game.

Fuller also plays soccer for Vanderbilt.

Fuller fully supports the Cardinals’ hiring of Fitzsimmons. She tweeted her support of him.

Fitzsimmons is back in the NFL. He was at Vanderbilt for two years after five seasons as a special teams assistant with the Detroit Lions from 2014-2018.

The Cardinals could use Fitzsimmons’ track record with kickers. Over the five seasons he was with Detroit. Matt Prater made 86.3% of his field goals.

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Report: Cardinals add special teams assistant to coaching staff

They reportedly hire Devin Fitzsimmons, who was a special teams assistant for the Detroit Lions from 2014-2018.

The Arizona Cardinals announced some coaching changes last month and it appears they are not done. After losing assistant special teams coach Derius Swinton to the Los Angeles Chargers to take a coordinator position there, Arizona has found his replacement.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, they are hiring Devin Fitzsimmons, who was Vanderbilt’s special teams coordinator and tight ends coach.

He spent only one year at Vanderbilt.

Previously, he was a special teams assistant for five seasons for the Detroit Lions from 2014-2018.

His other coaching stints were Delaware in 2013 at the same positions he held at Vanderbilt, Rutgers in 2012 as an offensive assistant, the Indianapolis Colts in 2011 as offensive quality control coach, Richmond in 2010, Virginia in 2009, Kansas State in 2007-2008, Bucknell in 2006 and Shaw in 2005.

Fitzsimmons doesn’t appear to have initial connections to anyone on head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s staff.

The team has not made a formal announcement yet.

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